History

The VCU Medical Center — then called the Medical College of Virginia — established one of the nation's first programs in solid organ transplantation in 1956.

David Hume, M.D., a pioneer in transplantation surgery, performed Virginia's first kidney transplant at MCV in 1957. Since those early days, the program has been known for its rich, innovative history and continued advances in transplantation.

A Tradition of Being First

As one of the oldest transplant centers in the country, the Hume-Lee Transplant Center has hosted many of the state's first-ever transplantation procedures, including:

Virginia's first human kidney transplant
Virginia's first liver transplant
Virginia's first “reduced-size” pediatric and adult orthotopic liver transplants
Virginia's first “reduced-size” living related-donor orthotopic liver transplant
The first-ever “reduced-size” orthotopic liver transplant using a liver from an unrelated living donor

The transplant center also opened one of the first tissue-typing labs in the world, as well as established Virginia's first vascular access program. Its clinical liver cell transplant program has achieved national and international recognition.

A Bright Future Ahead

Under the current leadership of David Bruno, M.D., F.A.C.S, Interim Division Chair for the Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery at VCU and VCU Health System, the clinical transplant program at the Hume-Lee Transplant Center continues to be one of the leading transplant programs in the U.S., with survival rates that are among the best in the state and consistently meeting or exceeding the expectations of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, the governing organization responsible for tracking and analyzing organ transplant data from across the U.S.

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